Pipe wrapping machine



Filed April l29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 4, 1933. *Y E, L' ROLFS1,917,197

PIPE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed April 29, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E Vj ene.Rolfs gimme@ E AGM s@ @Bum Patentedlluly d, 1933 iran s'rarl-:isvv

.PATENT OFFICE EUGENE LEONARD ROLFS, OF ST. LOUI, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TJOHNS-MANVIIJLE CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK PIPE wnmrna MACHINE Application led April 29, 1931.. Serial No.533,848.

f My invention relates to a machine for wrapping a strip of protectivematerial about a pipe and is particularly adapted for use on large sizedpipe such as is used in pipe lines for carrying gas, petroleum, waterand the like. V

It has `become customary to protect the said pipes against corrosion inuse by placing protective coatings and wrapping there- 1o on before thepipe is laid in posltion in the earth.

It is an'object of m invention to provide a mechanical device a apted tobe supporte largely upon the pipe which is wrapped for wrapping a stripof protective materlal labout the pipe. v

ltis an object to provide a device which is rotatable about the pipe,carrying with it a roll of covering material which may be 2@ thus woundina spiral vdirection about the p1 e.

ii contemplate theprovision of means for coveringthe wrapping materialwith an adhesive substance acting also as a coating matiti tenial forthe pipe.

v iin the drawings herewith, Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a deviceembodying my invention, certain parts being broken away for greaterclearness'.

it@ Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 'is a broken detail illustrating the driving meanswhereby thewrapping device is moved longitudinally of the pipe.

li desire to mount the body of the machine upon the pipe which is t-o bewrapped and in the drawing l have shown a frame 1, upon which is mounteda motor or driving device indicated somewhat diagrammatically 4@ at 2.This is preferably an internal combustion engine of ordinaryconstruction adapted to receive fuel from a small tank 3 adjacentthereto.

.Adjacent to said motor I provide a gear case or transmission housedwithin a covering 4. The transmission is adapted to oper- Vatc a shaft5, itlaon whichare mounted driving gears 6 an The frame is supportedupon the pipe by means of apair of rearward rollers 8, toothed on theirouter peripheries and beveled to engage against the outer surface of thepipe 9, as shown in Fi 3. These gears are mounted upon the sha t10,.supported within bearings 11 secured to the frame member 1previously referred to. i

The forward end of the-device is su ported upon wheels 12 mounted upon asliaft 13 supported in brackets or bearings 14 secured to the frame asin the case of the driving wheels.

The said driving wheels 8 are caused to d move along the pipe throughthe rotation of thed shaft 10 by means of the worm gear 15 secured tosaid shaft and engaging with a worm gear l16 mounted upon 'the shaft 17sup orted for rotation in the frame. The sha t 17 has at its rearwardend a gear 18, which operatively engages with the driving gear 6 on theshaft of the transmission. vIn this way the rotation of the shaft 5 willcommunicate a rotating movement to the driving wheels 8 whereby themachine will be propelled longitudinally of the pipe during the wrappingoperation.

Mounted at the rearward end of the frame l. is a drum 19, which is madein two sections adapted to be secured together at their margins as shownat 20 in Fig. 1. The drum is spaced outwardly from the pipe 9 and isadapted to rotate about the pipe as an axis. At the rearward end of thedrum is a spider 21 on the outer circumference of which is a ear 22adapted to operatively engage a gear g previously mentioned. Said drumis positioned within a stationary ring 23 on the frame within which itmay rotate in an obvious manner.

@n one side of the drum and adjacent the outer margin thereof is an armor shaft 24. Said arm is inclined outwardly and supports thereon a roll25 of wrapping material, the said roll being as an axis. As will be seenfrom Fig. 1, the downward or outward inclination of the shaft 24 allowsthe roll of wrapping material to dip within a tank or container 26 forcoating material such as some asphaltic compound or the like. Theinclination of the roll also places it at a proper angle relative aolrotatable upon the shaft 24,

to the pipe so thatit is wound in a spiral direction about the pipe withthe proper de-` gree of overlapping of each winding relative to the nextpreceding one. It will be understood that when the drum is rotated theroll is carried about the pipe and dips Within the coating material onceat each revolution of the drum, this bein sucient to thorough-v ly coverthe strip o material on the side thereof which contacts with the pipe.

The coating material is supplied to the container 26 from a tank 27placed adjacent to the frame 1 and supported upon a shaft or axle 29,supported at one end upon the frame 1 and at the other end upon a wheel30. Said wheel is adapted to bear upon the adjacent ground and act as abalance to sup port the frame 1 evenly upon the pipe and also to supportthe tank 27 for the coated material. llt is to be understood that thetank 27 has a furnace or heating device indicated at 3l below L,the sameand has a discharge pipe 32 leading from the tank downwardly to thecontainer 26. In this manner a new supply of coating material may besupplied to the container whenever necessar lib the operation of thisdevice it 'will be mounted adjacent the pipe to be wrappedand supportedlargely upon the pipe itself. When the Vmotor is operated the tractionwheels 8 bearing upon the pipe will act to propel the machine along thepipe at the desiredrate. As the machine progresses along the pipe therotation oit the drum 19 will carry the roll of wrapping material 25about the pipe, applying the material to the pipe in a smooth anduniform manner and the coating material supplied to the roll of wrappingmaterial will furnish sutlicient adhesive to cause the material to stickto thepipe and form a protective covering therefor.

'l` he device is exceedingly simple in construction and may be operatedfor an economical sum and will make it possible to apply a wrapping tothe pipe rapidly and cheaply. l am thus enabled to wrap tne felt orother covering uniformly and quickly as will be obvious.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim as new is:

1. ln a pipe wrapping machine adapted to travel along a pipe, a drumrotatable about the pi e, a spool of wrapping material on said rum, atank containing coating material, and means to rotate said drum to movesaid spool through said tank and in a planetary path about said pipe,whereby coating material is applied to said wrapping material and thecoated wrapping material is wrapped upon said pipe.

2. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame, traction Wheels mountedthereon adapted to engage a pipe, a drum on said frame rotatable aboutsaid pipe, a spool ot reime? wrapping material carried by said drum, atank containing coating material, means for driving said tractionWheels, and means for rotating said drum to move said spool through saidtank and in a planetary path about said pipe, whereby coating materialis applied to said Wrapping material and the coated wrapping material iswrapped upon said pipe.

3. A frame, traction wheels mounted thereon adapted to engage a pipe andsupport said frame, a drum on said frame rotatable about said pipe as anaxis, a spool of wrapping material carried by said drum in a planetarypath about said pipe, a tank containing coat- 'ing material throughwhich said spool is drum to move said spool through said tank in aplanetary path about said pipe, whereby coating material is applied tosaid Wrapping material and the coated wrapping material is wrapped uponsaid pipe, and means for stabilizing the device on the pipe.

5. A pipe wrapping machine including a main support frame and asub-frameadapted to surround the pipe, a drum rotatable in saidsub-frame, a spool of wrapping material thereon, a tank containingcoating mate` rial, means to rotate said drum to move said spool throughsaid tank and around said pipe, whereby the coating material is appliedto said wrapping material and the coated material is wrapped upon saidpipe, and means engaging said pipe to propel said device along saidpipe.

6. A machine for wrapping pipe including a frame mounted to travel alonga pipe, traction wheels engaging said pipe to propel said frame, a motoron said frame, a drum rotatable around said pipe, a spool of wrappingmaterial carried on the side of said drum, a tank containing coatingmaterial, the drum when rotated acting to carry the spoolof wrapping`material through the tank and in a planetary path around the pipe andoperative connections to actuate said wheels and said drum from saidmotor, whereby the frame is moved along the pipe, the coating materialis applied to said wrapping material and the coated wrapping material iswrapped upon said pipe.

7. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame, traction wheels mountedthereon Ill@ f I material, means or causin adapted'to engage a ipe andsu. rt said frame, a drum on said rame rotatab e around said pipe, aspool of wrapping material replaceably carried` by said drum at one sidethereon, a tank containing coatn material,

means for rotating said traction w eels to propel said frame alo saidipe, and means for rotating said rum a ut said pipe, so as to cause saidspool to lmove through said tank to coat the wrapping material and wrathe wrapping material so coated around t e pipe in an overlapping reylation.

8. A pipe wrapping machine comprising a frame, traction wheels mountedthereon adapted to engage a pipe and support said frame, a drum on saidframe rotatable about -said pipe, a s ool of wrapping material carriedby said rum a tank containing coating relative movement between saidframe an said pipe, means for rotating said drum about said frame so asto cause said spool to move through said tank to coat the wrappingmaterial and wrap the wrappin material so coated aroundv said pipe, anmeans for controlling the unwinding of said spool of wrappinglmaterial,

9. In a ipe wrapping mac ine, a support, a frame t ereon mounted torotate about a pipe, means on said frame and movable therewith to feedwrappin material to be wrapped about said pipe, an a container intowhich said wrapping material is submerged as it is fed to said p1 10. Artable combination pipe wrapping and coating machine, wherein thewrappin and coating operations are performed simu taneously, a container:for coating material, a support for wrapping material, and means torotate a web of the wrapping material through a bath of the coatingmaterial and about the pipe.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my dla of April, A. D. 1931.

signature this'lth JEUGENE ONARD ROLFS.

